It is well known that annually, millions of people visit beaches around the world. While there are many activities on and around beaches, it is also well known that the effects of the sun can be harsh and sometimes dangerous. Therefore, many people take temporary shade with them, including among other things, beach umbrellas.
Beach umbrellas typically include a large canopy disposed on the distal end of a long shaft. While beach umbrellas are easy to operate and transport, a common problem is anchoring the beach umbrella such that it is stable. Due to the large size of the canopy, even with a small wind, the canopy catches the wind similarly to a parachute and causes the umbrella to fall or, in the worst case, be blown away. When an umbrella is blown away, it can be difficult to recapture, and while airborne creates a danger to those in its path.
Several solutions have been attempted to anchor an umbrella in the sand. These typically fall into three categories.
First, an anchor is configured to receive the proximal end of the umbrella shaft. The anchor may be some sort of plate, weighted bag, or frame. In either instance, the anchor is configured to be placed on the surface of the sand. These types of anchors do not effectively prevent the umbrella from tipping over.
A second type of anchor involves driving the proximal end of the umbrella shaft into the sand. To this extent, the umbrella shaft may define an auger at its proximal end in order to affectively screw the shaft into the sand. It has found that this, too, has been ineffective especially in higher winds.
Finally, a third type of anchor includes one or more straps connected at one end along the periphery of the umbrella canopy and at the other end into the sand via a stake. An alternative to this type is positioning the umbrella such that a portion of the periphery is engaged with the surface of the sand and one or more points along the periphery are anchored directly into the sand via a stake. In these embodiments, the umbrella either includes straps that create tripping hazards and limit ingress and egress from under the umbrella, or limit the amount of shade because the canopy is anchored directly into the sand.
Because neither of these anchors has proven effective in and of themselves, many solutions have included using two or more of the above types of anchors in various formats.
The present invention is provided as an improved solution to quickly and effectively anchor a beach umbrella into the sand while also allowing maximum flexibility with respect to orientation of the umbrella. When not in use, the anchor is configured to receive the proximal end of the umbrella in order to neatly store and easily transport the umbrella.